Sluff management

Jim Conway and Mark Newcomb has made a good writeup on sluff hazards and sluff management techniques, for the US Forrest Service Avalanche Center.
It's not new anymore, but the information is still relevant. I think it's easy to understand and easy to apply.

http://www.fsavalanche.org/encyclopedia/sluff.htm

Small sluff on Cheops Mountain. Rogers Pass, BC.

Airtravel and Avalanche Airbags

Airtravel and airbag packs are a subject I see debated all over the web and fairly often.
There seems to be a lot mystery and misconceptions around this matter (also among airline check-in staff).

I bought my Mammut Pro 45 Avalanche Airbag Backpack last year, and flew with it a couple of times last season.
This season I have, so far, flown six times with the pack and cartridge.

Some components of the system comes under the dangerous goods regulations. Which part depends on what brand of airbag you use.
For Mammut/Snowpulse, BCA and Wary the dangerous goods component is the cartridge only.
For ABS the dangerous goods components are the deployment handle and the cartridge.

As stated by the IATA (International Air Transport Association) it is legal to carry an avalanche airbag cartridge on a plane. Either in your carry-on or in the checked piece.
Extract from the IATA website: